Knights overwhelm shorthanded Mammoth, win 4th straight

There was no letdown from the Vegas Golden Knights in their first game back after a successful road trip.

The Utah Mammoth didn’t help matters given they were severely shorthanded, but the Knights still overpowered Utah in a 5-3 win at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.

Forward Victor Olofsson had a goal and two assists in the second period alone, and forward Ivan Barbashev scored on both of those assists as the Knights (13-5-2) won their fourth straight.

Center Jack Eichel scored for the second straight game and added an assist, and Mitch Marner had three assists for his sixth multi-point game in his last 10.

Goaltender Carter Hart finished with 14 saves.

What was supposed to be billed as a rematch for last season’s thrilling first-round series was anything but that.

Utah was without a number of key players, including top forwards Dylan Guenther (undisclosed) and Logan Cooley (upper body). Former Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt was placed on injured reserve prior to the game.

The Mammoth (10-8-1) had to play 21-year-old Daniil But on the top line and move bottom-six forward Jack McBain to the top six.

Mammoth forward Nick Schmaltz suffered an injury midway through the game.

Utah defenseman Dmitri Simashev, 21, was called for interference 59 seconds into the game.

Eichel fired a one-timer from the left circle for his first power-play goal of the season. He had one all of last season.

Utah tied it at 8:07 on a rebound from forward Lawson Crouse. The Knights’ fourth line was called for icing and lost the ensuing defensive-zone faceoff.

The Knights’ talent overwhelmed whatever little Utah had left in the second period with three goals in just over five minutes.

Olofsson scored his first goal since returning from injury on Thursday at 3:07 with a wrist shot on the power play.

It marked the fifth time this season the Knights scored multiple power-play goals in a game.

Barbashev tapped in a flubbed shot from Olofsson at 4:51, and then weaved through three Utah players to complete a highlight-reel finish at 8:16 for a 4-1 lead.

The Knights outshot the Mammoth 15-5 in the second period.

Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon played 15:31 in his first game since missing the last month with an upper-body injury.

Wotherspoon filled in for the injured Noah Hanifin, who is week-to-week.

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.

Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.